God Came Down

“‘For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day’” (John 6:38-40).

Early in this holiday season, the Lord began to show me something. I don’t know that it was new, but perhaps something I needed to understand in a new way. It is not all that profound a discovery that would “wow” most, but it is as if the Lord has shed a light on it for me. The verse above tells us Jesus came down from heaven to do the will of the Father. The words “came down” have captured my attention this season. I have noticed these words in other verses also. They just keep popping out to me in God’s word. They indicate an interactive relationship between God and His creation. They reveal God’s very real involvement with the people He created. He is not a distant God, unaware and unfamiliar with us and with the world He created. He is a God who is near to us and desires to be involved in every part of our lives.

When God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden, the Bible tells us they heard “the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day…” (Genesis 3:8). Before sin entered the world, God walked among the people He created. He fellowshipped with them. After Adam and Eve sinned, God’s relationship with man changed, as communion between God and man was broken, yet that did not keep God from coming down among His creation.

In Genesis 5, we learn about a city and a tower men were building to reach the heavens to make a name for themselves and in disobedience to God. The LORD came down to see the city and the tower. This was the tower in what would become Babel, where the LORD came down and confused the language and scattered men over all the earth.

In Genesis 18, The LORD appeared to Abraham outside his tent and spoke about the child he and his wife, Sarah, would conceive. During this same visit, the LORD spoke to Abraham regarding Sodom and Gomorrah. He said, “‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know’” (Genesis 18:20-21).

In Exodus 3, the LORD told Moses, “‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering, so I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians…’” (Exodus 3:7-8a).

Joshua 5:13-15 details Joshua’s encounter with the commander of the army of the LORD, an appearance of the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. It was the LORD who would ensure their victory.

Time and time again, the Bible shows us God moving among His people and His creation. We see His desire to have communion with the people He created, His involvement in the lives of His people, and His understanding and awareness of the things happening on earth.

When it was time for Jesus to come, God came down again. In the greatest act of love, God sent His Son, Jesus, to die to save the people He created. John’s gospel tells us “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1-2). Jesus is God, and when the time was right, the Father sent Him to us. “The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Jesus came to dwell among us and to carry out the will of the Father. The verse in John 6 tells us the Father’s will is “that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life.” Jesus came down that we might be saved through His death and resurrection. The prophet Isaiah said, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and you will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Immanuel means God with us. Jesus is exactly that. He is God with us.

When Jesus had accomplished the will of His Father through His death and resurrection, He returned to the Father, but God was not done. Jesus said to His disciples, “‘And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you’” (John 14:16-18).

When we believe in Jesus and trust Him for salvation, He places His Spirit in us. That is God dwelling in us forever. He not only came to dwell among us; He made a way to dwell in us. That is the incredible love and grace of God who desires a covenant relationship with us.

This Christmas, we hope you have experienced the incredible gift of salvation through Jesus Christ and know the gift of His presence in your life through His Holy Spirit. Jesus came down to die for us and to give us new life. That is the celebration of Christmas.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

“‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’” (John 3:16).